A) MAYWOOD is our "Jerusalem."  Pray that God would God would gloriously redeem the years that the swarming locust have eaten among His people in Maywood (Joel 2:25). Maywood is busting out at the seams with people who are loved by God - real people with real names and with real needs. As a community with many serious issues, our only hope is that we actually live by things like faith, hope, and love instead of just talking about them. We are not battling a culture that sprang up overnight. It's generations in the making, but we are trusting that God is actively working to to do what he does best - REDEEM.

Having said that, we're not sure if life in Maywood is not as bad as we had initially thought, or maybe it's actually improved since we arrived. In reality, Maywood is what it is, so that we are convinced that God is answering our requests for courage and boldness. For example, the murder tally was up to 20 in 2003 and has since dropped to 10 or 11 in subsequent years, but in 2008 Maywood murders jumped to 14. Then in 2009, we saw a huge dip. Please continue to pray for the crime and violence that burdens our community. It is only as we remember our Father's trustworthiness that all worries and fears melt away. Pray that God would break the strongholds of lawlessness, complacency, indifference. Pray that God will break the grip of the Evil One in Maywood. Pray that God's faithful remnant will arise and champion revival in the "Village of Eternal Light."

We desire to see regularly-meeting adult prayer and Bible study groups which will expand by multiplication, grow and mature into a "pre-congregations", and then into a church. Pray that God would give people an urgent thirst to know him! Our ministry to local kids through Backyard Bible Club for kids continues to exhibit the closest thing to a regularly-meeting group. This past summer we expanded our efforts to minister to kids by providing additional days of Backyard Bible Club and by having various mission teams come alongside us to put on large-scale outreach events!  

When ministry is deliberately done out in the community rather than inside facilities, inclement weather becomes one of our greatest enemies! Now with the weather finally warming, pray that the hearts of young people will grow warmer toward Jesus! Pray that youth will be delivered out of a culture of dysfunction and instead be raised up to be a new generation with an unprecedented conviction for the renown of Jesus and his Bride!

B) On COLLEGIATE CAMPUSES, we engage "Judea, Samaria, and the Ends..." Pray for our collegiate ministries. While we openly engage anyone, our strategic concern is for the salvation of internationals. The nations of the world have already come to Chicago, and some of their brightest are on our college campuses. We believe God has called theCommunity to reach the world through these future indigenous missionaries.

Our campus work at Solex College-Wheeling is becoming increasingly established into the fabric of its campus life. Now, new doors are opening up for us at Solex-Chicago, Truman College in Chicago, Morton College in Cicero, Oakton College in DesPlaines, at Triton College in River Grove (again), and at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago (again), too! We are in the midst of planning and strategizing our entry as well as following up with many "interested" contacts. Pray with us that the Lord will give us favor at these campuses and that he will give us eyes to see where, when, and how to minister to these campuses.

2) ...for the Radiant Bride of Christ

A) GOD'S LABORERS, HIS MISSIONARIES AND HIS MISSION TEAMS. Even now we are prayerfully undergoing our ministries for 2010. We continue to host and assemble and enlist new mission teams, missionaries, partners and resources for a exciting year of Kingdom-building! Pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send workers into the field! Pray that the Lord would instruct us in the way to go forward. Already, we are expecting that 200+ missionaries will have come through by the end of  2010.  We'll also host 5-6 summer missionaries who will serve alongside us. Pray that his servants would see where, when, and how the Master is working and then accept his invitation to work alongside him. Pray that God use his Radiant Bride to gather an abundant harvest in 2010!

B) CHICAGO'S FIRST MISSION HOUSE.  We have begun a prayer campaign to see at least three "mission houses" around Chicagoland for the hosting and housing of God's laborers. They are coming and they will continue to come, but there are few places for them to rest their heads at night. It is our hope and prayer to see the first "mission house" established in Maywood due to its strategic location, its affordability, and its own missional and ministry needs.

Paul tells us that Jesus is the One who is presenting His Church to Himself as radiant, glorious, and splendid (Eph 5:25-27). According to the prophet Isaiah, the people of God rejoice for it is God who has clothed them in "garments of salvation" and "arrayed" them in a "robe of righteousness" (61:10). Yet, while the first half of the verse envisions Yahweh doing the dressing of his Bride, the rest of the text implies that the Bride must do the wearing (cf. Rev 19:8). 

Pray that the people of God would receive and display the adornments of God as a Bride displays her wedding adornments - even as she is herself an adornment to be displayed by God as a "crown of beauty" in the hand of her Bridegroom. Pray that the radiance of the Bride would broadcast the righteousness of her Husband and King, Jesus.

3) ...that the Holy Spirit would prepare more Persons of Peace (P.O.P's)

Why do we continue to list this request and why is it so important? We are in a highly cross-cultural context that naturally brings with it additional barriers for engaging our neighbors with the love of Jesus. Finding the true "person(s) of peace" prepared by God is like finding a key which unlocks the door to thruways which were previously inaccessible to us! There are embedded circles of influence which are difficult to penetrate without the help of the "P.O.P."

A) The adoption ball continues to roll, but very slowly!  We are on the verge of scheduling our "home study." For those who are not familiar, this is not a workshop or study that meets in a home. It is quite literally a study or examination of our physical home - to make sure that it is suitable for housing a new child. This is step four in a eight-step process.  First, orientation. Second, application. Third, background and reference checks. Fourth, home studies. Fifth, licensing by DCFS. Sixth, family portfolio and selection (the biological mother selects us, hopefully). Seventh, placement in foster-care/adoption. Eighth, the finalized adoption. Pray that the Lord completely direct this whole process and will give us the pleasure of rescuing a child. We've wrestled with the type of adoption - foreign or domestic - and we've come to the conclusion that with so many family-less children right here in the U.S., it didn't make any sense for us to go looking in Asia, Africa, or Europe, etc. With a Baptist Children's Home and Family Services right here in Illinois, we're moving forward.

 An aside: We know that many of those who stand alongside us in ministry also
share our convictions regarding abortion. In love, we urge you to consider making an
authentic and relevant expression of your convictions by prayerfully ruminating over what
we're going to do with all the children whose lives are saved by a biological mother's courageous decision to deliver rather than kill. We applaud their actions; still, who will raise their children?
The government? Who will love them? Planned Parenthood? Who will show Jesus to them?
The ACLU? If we do nothing but influence legislation to save them (which by the way our  
president attempts to overturns as we speak), we have not relevantly addressed the lives that
must be nurtured in the Lord.

B) Year TWO came to a close with the end of our support contract from the North American Mission Board. Their support accounted for about 25% of our total monthly support. However, our support from the Illinois State Baptists will come to an end before the end of 2010, too. Pray with us that we will indeed find the Lord to be faithful to provide for his own work - that we will find him faithful to take care of his laborers, and that we will always find him to be faithful to complete the work he has started.

5) ...Pray and Praises for ministry needs

A) Praise God! We have several different mission teams that we've lined up for Summer outreaches and ministries.  Maybe your church or group of friends are interested in coming alongside us?  Don't hesitate to ask how you can get involved; we are a very accommodating missions host.  We're planning on casting our net a bit wider as we outreach to new neighborhoods that are adjacent to ours, and we need help!

B) In 2009, we had the pleasure of hosting our first three summer missionaries through the North American Mission Board.  Ashley, Kendra, and Claire helped us with ministry in Maywood and in many other ways as well.  God answered prayers for excellent interns and that's exactly what we got! 

Now, we  ask you to pray again that our 5 interns in 2010 would be at least equally wonderful. They are  Ashlee, Jeanna, Katie, Kristina, and MyeongUk.  We've been asking you to pray that we'd find good  housing for our missionaries and as of May 18th, we have a signed a lease for a townhouse! Thanks so much for your faithful prayers! And thank you, Jesus for providing all the supporters, all the advocates, all the generous donors, an awesome residence, and what we trust will be an awesome! group of missionaries! However, now we have to furnish the space to make it hospitable. Pray that God would provide all the resources that are needed to take care of our six summer missionaries. We can only trust that if God has put it firmly upon their hearts to come to Maywood, then he must have every intention of making sure that they are cared for.  We desire to do all that is within our power to host them with gracious hospitality.  Pray that God affords us all the means to do so.

C) Similarly, we are very excited about the possibility of having our very first advocate who will take the first area of missional partnership to the MAX.  She believes that the Lord is leading her to MOVE TO MAYWOOD!  We won't disclose her name yet, but we ask you to pray that God would affirm her desire to come by providing everything that she needs get situated in Maywood!

D) Pray that God would raise up indigenous harvesters, too.  Having a bunch of Anglo and Asian missionaries serving in a predominantly black community can only go so far.  We plead with God to raise up godly role models (especially young black men) who will tend the King's vineyards!

E) To our dear advocates: know that we appreciate your continued support of God's work. Please prayerfully consider how the Lord may be leading you to get involved in new ways. "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few" (Mt 9:39). Praise our heavenly Father for those who prayerfully and generously advocate for us in Maywood. We are especially thankful for those individuals and teams that have incarnationally come alongside us.